We work hard to show you up-to-date product terms, however, this information does not originate from us and thus, we do not guarantee its accuracy. Before submitting an application, always verify all terms and conditions with the offering institution. Please let us know if you notice any differences.

† Approval Odds are WalletHub estimates intended to gauge your likelihood of approval for a particular product. Approval Odds are based on WalletHub data and are not provided or endorsed by the lender. Approval Odds are not meant to imply or guarantee that you will be approved by the lender or that credit will be extended.

Ad Disclosure: Certain offers that appear on this site originate from paying advertisers, and this will be noted on an offer’s details page using the designation "Sponsored", where applicable. Advertising may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). At WalletHub we try to present a wide array of offers, but our offers do not represent all financial services companies or products.

The right 0% balance transfer credit card can help you save a lot money and get out of debt much sooner than you would otherwise. How? Well, a balance transfer credit card gives you the money to repay an existing lender, letting you trade in a high interest rate for a lower one. And since many balance transfer cards offer 0% introductory APRs, you may have the chance to avoid paying any more interest before reaching debt freedom. But when comparing balance transfer credit card offers (some of which are from WalletHub’s partners), you have to consider the total cost. That means evaluating each card’s balance transfer fee and regular APR as well as the length of its 0% intro period. WalletHub’sbalance transfer calculatorcan help with that.You should alsocheck your latest credit score for free on WalletHubearly in the process. Balance transfer credit cards with 0% intro rates are usually available only to people with good or excellent credit. Finally, if you’d like a recommendation, you can check out WalletHub’s editors’ picks for the best balance transfer credit cards, which can be found at the bottom of the page.…show moreshow less

Get 5% miles back to use toward your next redemption, every time you redeem

Miles don't expire as long as your account is open, active and in good standing

Additional Info

No foreign transaction fees on anything you buy while in another country

0% introductory APR for 12 months on Balance Transfers made within 45 days of account opening. After that, a variable APR will apply, 16.99%, 20.99% or 23.99%, based on your creditworthiness. Please note, there is a fee for balance transfers

0% Introductory APR for the first 15 months on purchases. Plus, you'll get a 0% introductory APR for 15 months on Balance Transfers made within 45 days of account opening. After that, a variable APR will apply, 13.99%

No balance transfer fees

No foreign transaction fees

Chip technology, so paying for your purchases is more secure at chip-card terminals in the U.S. and abroad

What are the best 0% balance transfer credit card offers right now?

By: John Kiernan, Credit Card EditorThe best balance transfer credit card is not one-size-fits-all. The answer depends on how much you owe, how quickly you’ll be able to repay it and what your credit score is. Those factors will tell you which cards are attainable and help you figure out how much each will save you. But we can certainly point you in the right direction.

WalletHub’s editors compared hundreds of credit cards based on their overall balance-transfer appeal. In the end, five cards in particular stood out. None of them charge annual fees. All of them require at least good credit for approval. And you can get the rest of the particulars below.

What is a balance transfer, and how do you do one?

By: John Kiernan, Credit Card EditorA balance transfer is a way to reduce the cost of existing debt and repay it sooner than you would otherwise. In theory, you can transfer the balance remaining on any loan or line of credit to most any credit card. But certain offers are classified as “balance transfer credit cards” because they have relatively low APRs and fees for this type of transaction.

You will always have the option of requesting a balance transfer when you apply for a new credit card. And you should be able to submit such a request with an existing account, as long as you aren’t already carrying a balance from month to month. Just bear in mind that certain account terms, such as 0% intro APRs and $0 transfer fees, may only be available for a limited time after account opening.

When you’re comparing balance transfer offers, it’s worth calling your current credit card’s issuer to see what it can offer. Say that you plan on doing a balance transfer, unless you are given a significantly reduced interest rate. Your rate won’t be reduced to 0%, but even a slight APR reduction will help you save while your application for a 0% transfer is processed.

What types of balances can you transfer to a credit card?

By: John Kiernan, Credit Card EditorAll major credit card companies allow you to transfer a balance from another issuer’s credit card but not one of their own. Some issuers also allow you transfer other types of debt, such as a balance from an auto loan, student loan, payday loan, mortgage, etc.

You can check out WalletHub’s Balance Transfer Study to see each major issuer’s policies. But we’ll highlight Chase and Barclaycard here because they offer the best balance transfer credit cards on the market, in Slate and Ring.

Chase – Credit card debt only

Barclaycard – All consumer debt

No matter what type of balance you transfer, make sure to use a balance transfer calculator to plan your payments and confirm you’re getting the best deal.

Does it matter who issues my balance transfer card or what network it’s on?

By: John Kiernan, Credit Card EditorNot really. The fees and APRs that your balance transfer credit card charges are far more important than the company that issues it or the network it’s on.

The issuer of your balance transfer credit card really only matters when it comes to rewards and customer service. Most credit card companies will not reward you with points, miles or cash back on transferred balances. But some do, at least with select cards. Furthermore, each major credit card issuer has its own distinct reputation. However, even the best rewards can’t stand up to a hefty balance transfer fee. And besides submitting your application and monthly payments, you probably won’t have much to do with the issuer of your balance transfer credit card. So better terms trump better customer service in most cases.

Your balance transfer card’s network (i.e. Visa, Mastercard, Discover or American Express) is even less important than its issuer. Card networks simply dictate where you can make purchases. And it’s best not to make purchases with a balance transfer credit card. If you do, interest will begin accruing immediately, since carrying a balance from month to month removes your grace period.

How long does a balance transfer take?

By: John Kiernan, Credit Card EditorBalance transfers usually take 15 to 25 days from when you submit a balance transfer credit card application. In the meantime, it is very important that you continue making payments toward the balance being transferred, which you should send to your original creditor. If you don’t, your balance could be classified as past-due, damaging your credit standing and perhaps putting the transfer into doubt.

Once the credit card transfer is finalized, you will see a credit listed on your original account, as if a payment was made. And a corresponding balance will be listed on your balance transfer credit card account. Remember, unless you have a 0% transfer card, interest will start to accrue as soon as your balance gets transferred.

What is a balance transfer fee?

By: John Kiernan, Personal Finance Editor

A balance transfer fee is exactly what it sounds like: A fee charged for transferring debt from a loan or line of credit to a credit card. Most balance transfer credit cards have transfer fees. And these fees are typically listed as either a percentage of the amount transferred or a minimum dollar amount, whichever is higher.

The average balance transfer fee is just over 3% of the amount transferred, according to WalletHub’s latest Credit Card Landscape Report. But some cards charge as much as 5%. On the other end of the spectrum, some of the best balance transfer credit cards don’t have balance transfer fees.

What are the most important balance transfer credit card features to consider?

By: John Kiernan, Credit Card EditorThe value of a balance transfer card depends on four main factors:

Balance transfer fee

Introductory APR for transfers

Length of the introductory period

Regular APR (applies once the intro terms expire)

It can be difficult to balance all of these terms. So we recommend using a balance transfer calculator. This will help you determine not only how long it will take you to pay off your balance, but also which balance transfer credit card will save you the most money.

If you anticipate being able to repay your full balance within a card’s 0% intro period, you can focus on avoiding a balance transfer fee. The regular APR won’t affect you, after all.

But if you don’t think you’ll be approved for a card with a long enough 0% intro period to repay your full balance, the regular rate will indeed come into play. And the card with the longest introductory period won’t necessarily be the best balance transfer credit card for you. So you’ll have to compare the cost of paying down what you owe with each card you’re considering. And you’ll need to take into account how much you expect to owe at the end of each card’s 0% period as well as how expensive that amount will be, in light of each card’s regular APR.

Finally, don’t make the mistake of assuming another balance transfer credit card will be available to bail you out if you don’t reach debt freedom by the time regular rates take effect. Many people learned this lesson the hard way during the Great Recession.

Is there such thing as a free balance transfer?

By: John Kiernan, Credit Card EditorNo balance transfer is guaranteed to be free, but some credit cards do offer the potential for a free balance transfer from time to time. More specifically, it’s not unheard of for a credit card to offer a 0% intro APR on transfers without charging a balance transfer fee or an annual fee. So if you get such a card and repay what you owe by the time regular rates take effect, you’ll have yourself a free transfer. But if you have a balance remaining at that point, or you miss a monthly minimum payment along the way, you’ll end up paying interest.

Are 0% balance transfer offers always available?

By: John Kiernan, Credit Card EditorZero interest balance transfer cards are usually available. But how many offers there are and how easy they are to get vary based on the economic climate. When times are good, 0% balance transfer credit cards are pretty common because credit card companies can afford to offer attractive terms to attract draw in new customers. People with fair credit may even have a shot at getting a 0% transfer card in such times.

But 0% transfer offers tend to be much rarer during tough times. And those that do exist may be reserved for people with excellent credit. For example, during the worst of the Great Recession, it was nearly impossible to find 0% balance transfer credit cards because most issuers did not want to add indebted customers to their portfolios.

A transfer request’s timing in relation to when you apply for a card also is quite important. In most cases, you will have to ask for a transfer when you submit a credit card application or within 30-60 days of doing so, if you want to get the advertised terms. So we recommend having both the amount you wish to transfer and your current card’s account number ready when you submit a balance transfer credit card application.

Should I make purchases with a balance transfer credit card?

By: John Kiernan, Credit Card EditorIt’s fine to buy things with a balance transfer credit card for as long as it offers 0% interest on purchases. But if your card does not offer 0% on purchases, or this introductory rate has ended, making purchases could prove very expensive.

Whenever you carry a credit card balance from month to month, there is no grace period for new charges. That means finance charges begin to apply as soon as you swipe your card. A 0% purchase APR protects you from this temporarily. But if you don’t pay off what you spend by the time regular rates take effect, interest charges will quickly eat away at your savings.

Community Discussion

I chose the Chase Slate because I had let my card balance get too high and there was no way I was going to be able to pay just my balance. I decided to do some research and found that Chase Slate is the best for balance transfers. The percentage of the fee to transfer was way less than what I was going to have to pay in monthly late fees.

I chose Capital One QuickSilver One Rewards. The company themselves are extremely helpful and care about their customers. I first decided to go with them, because they helped my mom out a lot when she was behind on her bills. They were not threatening, instead they went and did everything they could to make the situation easier for her. Using the card is easy, the setup was very quick. I wish I would have gotten this card earlier, so I could saved even more money.…read more

I think younger credit users need to see the advantages of moving their balances to other cards and not sticking to their set payment plan, slowly paying off their debts. A balance transfer usually comes with no cost, such as the Chase Slate card, and will give you 0% for upwards of 18mo to get your finances under control. 18mo doesn't sound like a lot of time, but that's a year and a half of not paying interest, but if you kept paying on that one card at 20%apr, you would be throwing money down the drain. Generally a bank will pretty much do the entire transfer for you, making it even easier for you. If you are stuck with high monthly payments, please consider transferring your balance to a card you do not wish to use to take advantage of the 0% introductory rates and fees.…read more

Sometimes it is very difficult to pay the pending amount of a credit card on the due date and the non-payment of this due amount may hurt your credit score and result in higher interest which increases month by month. One of the best solutions to avoid these problems is to use the balance transfer feature. Using this feature we can save some extra money which can accrue a higher interest rate. There is no/less paperwork involved and if we already hold a credit card account - there is no need to furnish any documents at all. It is an easy and quick process helping in clearing the debt as early as possible. I like this feature a lot.…read more

When I use balance transfer facility of my credit cards few times now i am bit worried to use because, when i used last time i used ICICI bank for the balance transfer. i had sufficient balances for the other purchases. but, found interest charges for the whole balance transfer amount citing that we should not use the card when the balance transfer facility was used in the card. Later i paid my balance and bit hesitant to use card now a days for balance transfer.…read more

I am not here to ask a question but to praise my balance transfer card which is ,perhaps, beyond any other bundled package coming in this range of balance transfer products. As against an APR count of 12.99% to 22 and odd percent on regular usage you get a APR holiday for nine months with 0% APR. You get a bonus reward of $100 and you earn 1.5 % rewards. There is no annual fee and you can swing right into this offering with just a 'good' rating. I think this is the best way to juggle around your balances. This card is titled as Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card. I loved it all the way and it has saved me loads of money by now.…read more

I choose the Chase Freedom card to switch my balance to. I did so because of the 0% interest it offered. That was the main factor, but a few other factors that were important were their customer service and rewards program. The transfer was so and effortless. There was no hassle on my end. They make it very easy to do.

When I decided to go for a balance transfer card after some research decided to go for Citi Thank You card. I was using one card for the cash back rewards but a few months later I received a great interest rate for the Citi Thank You card. I decided to transfer my balance to this card and was relieved to see my credit amount coming down on my initial card. I am really thankful to the City Thank You Card.…read more

We had large balances on several credit cards and the introductory 0% time period was running out, so we utilized the Chase Freedom card in order to give us some more time to try to get a handle on the debt, however, looking back, I deeply regret ever becoming involved with credit cards. We chose the Chase Freedom card because they had sent us an introductory offer in the mail and we thought, how can we go wrong with 0% interest? We ended up chasing these offers one after the other as our incomes declined and there was fewer ability to pay off the debt. There are really very, very few advantages to using these cards but the 0% balance transfers can be a very useful tool. Use it carefully, use the time to pay off as much as you can, because once that time is up, these credit companies will be more than happy to charge high interest and they are not your pal so get in, then get out as fast as you can.…read more

Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card was the first of two credit cards that I've had. I would have kept it if other interests were not in my way. As somebody stuck with a lot of debts, from student to cars, this was a great introduction car. The terms were very easy, and I could easily follow and know the limits as well as I could. I was able to quickly see my balances, and if I ever had a problem with transfers going through (which happened once or twice through 2 years of use) there was always an associate who was glad to help me.…read more

I had a large balance of a thousand dollars on my capital one credit card. The apr was 15.99 which isn't very good. So I looked into transferring to another card. The card that I transferred to was a bank of america cash back card with a 0% interest rate for the first 12 months. It is a life saver, plus I earn money back on the everyday things that I spend money on.

5 years ago, I got my first US Bank credit card - which had a very low limit. But over the year, I kept paying on time and eventually received their platinum card which has a $5000 limit. I usually transfer my smaller balances from my other credit cards and pay off the US Bank balance on the following month. This way, I end getting an additional month to pay my credit cards balances without incurring interest. The banks probably do not like this, but I play the credit game and have almost perfect credit now.…read more

I chose this card for balance transfer because of the low fees and great rate. Not having the balance incur interest for 15 month is a relief as the extra amount that would be used toward interest is going to the balance. I have a plan to get the balance paid within 15 months and this definitely helps!

Tired of my previous Discover card, it's high interest rate, and the fact that it wasn't accepted everywhere, I decided to apply for a Capital One Quicksilver card. After getting approved and transferring my balance, I was able to enjoy a lower interest rate, and a 0% transfer intro APR. Not did this result in a lower total payoff for the credit card debt, since the interest incurred was much lower, but it also helped to open the doors to other Capital One opportunities and cards that I will most likely take advantage of in the future.

I would definitely recommend the Capital One Quicksilver card for any individual wanting to find a good balance transfer card without having to worry about extremely high fees.…read more

I realized I needed a balance transfer and found a spot on deal with the Citi Thank You card. I was using one card for the cash back rewards but a few months later I received a great interest rate for the Citi Thank You card. I decided to give it a go and I'm very pleased with how that turned out. I'm getting my cash back rewards on the original card and got a great interest rate on the balance transfer with Citi. I'm grateful cards like this do exist for those of us who need them. The balance on my main card dwindled over the months and I was soon back in the black.…read more

I got a Discover card for balance transfers when I had some issues with credit card debt. It was the best deal available because I was able to get no fees on transfers. This allowed me to essentially discharge hundreds of dollars of interest owed on the other credit cards while working to repair my credit.

I used a Citibank Visa with 0% interest for 12 months on balance transfers to start paying down my debt. It allowed me to pay off one card by transferring the balance to the Citibank card that was easier to pay down. I made sure my payment amount was the same as it would have been even if I didn't have 0% interest, and the balance lowered in huge chunks every month. I kept the other card at a 0 balance to improve my credit score credit to balance ratio. Even after the 12 months, the interest rate was very low and in only about a year and half I had the Citibank card paid off as well.…read more

The best card for balance transfers is Discover. I had a variety of options for balancing transfers. One was a 0% with a fee and the others was a very low 4.9% with no fee over a long period of time. These options were very favorable and better than what other cards were offering me.

The best thing I did to start paying down my debts, including the high balance I was carrying on my Amazon Visa card, was to set up a direct deposit into a separate checking account used only for one purpose. I put 10% of my paycheck into the account before I even touched the money, thanks to the direct deposit. From there I set up an auto payment schedule from the checking account, to pay my credit card bill on time every month. This two part system has pretty much automated my monthly payments, so I've been able to pay down a pretty significant chunk of my debts this way!…read more

I use the Chase Freedom card as my main card, and when it comes down to balance transfer cards, I think this is the best way you can go. I have excellent credit, and when I have to pay for something with a large sum of money, I am able to make multiple transactions with this card. The best part is that there is a $100 rewards bonus, and the bonuses are always coming in. I don't even have to use a lot of money, and the rewards start piling up.…read more

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We work hard to show you up-to-date product terms, however, this information does not originate from us and thus, we do not guarantee its accuracy. Before submitting an application, always verify all terms and conditions with the offering institution. Please let us know if you notice any differences.

† Approval Odds are WalletHub estimates intended to gauge your likelihood of approval for a particular product. Approval Odds are based on WalletHub data and are not provided or endorsed by the lender. Approval Odds are not meant to imply or guarantee that you will be approved by the lender or that credit will be extended.

Ad Disclosure: Certain offers that appear on this site originate from paying advertisers, and this will be noted on an offer’s details page using the designation "Sponsored", where applicable. Advertising may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). At WalletHub we try to present a wide array of offers, but our offers do not represent all financial services companies or products.